Benvenuti, Ayubowan, Céad Míle Fáilte… Welcome!

January 1, 2012 by Dil

Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Dilhani but I am better known as Dil. As an activist, trainer, broadcaster, journalist and more recently stand up comedian, all my work is geared towards creating a better Ireland.

I feel passionately about equality, inclusion, integration and mental health.

I hope to highlight some of the work I do here and how we can all play our part in creating an Ireland where each resident can reach their full potential.

Please feel free to leave your email address over in the “subscribe by email” box for automatic updates on my posts and I look forward to reading your comments.

Yours in diversity and equality,

Dil

Watch my best bits from TV3′s Midday Show, Tonight on Vincent Browne and RTE’s The Daily Show:


One Gold bangle…

It is customary for Sri Lankan children to wear jewellery. The reason for this I suspect is not simple vanity but an indication your class and wealth. For as long as I remember I always wore 2 gold bangles, one on each wrist. These were placed on my wrists at a very early age and because of a flexible clasp they expanded as I grew older. I remember when I was a teenager the only way I could remove the remaining bangle was by having my Dad cut it with a set of pliers. Now, I did mention at the start I had 2 but I gave one away to my best friend as she didn’t have one.  I would have probably given the other one away too but they were quite hard to get off.

I never liked being treated like I was better than the other kids and the only way I could express this to my parents and  rebel against the Sri Lankan caste and class system was by giving one of my bangles away. I knew very well how valuable these were and how much trouble I was going be in but even back then I was passionate about equality and I still am.

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Who’s job is it to care for our older citizens?

May 12, 2012 by Dil

I am sure by now you must have heard about the recent BBC Panorama programme which screened some really upsetting footage of an 80-year-old patient who was suffering with Alzheimer’s and was repeatedly beaten by a member of staff at a care home in London. The footage was recorded by the patient’s daughter who hid a camera in her mother’s room after becoming suspicious that she was being mistreated because of the multiple bruises she noticed on her mother’s body.

I have to say that although I watched the programme over two weeks ago I can’t shake the images of that poor woman being man-handled in such a horrible way…

In one of the recordings while she was being changed the staff at the nursing home were complaining about their wages as many were just on minimum wage.

Watching the documentary I was reminded of my early days in Ireland when I worked as a casual catering and ward assistant in many nursing homes across Dublin. As a catering assistant it was my job to make sure the patients catering needs were taken care of both in the dining room and on the wards. I really enjoyed it as I got to meet some really great characters and hear their interesting life stories.

I personally found the work of a catering assistant was hard but I also saw that the work of a care assistant was even harder especially as it involved a lot of manual handling. I remember thinking back then how was it that people like care assistants who were on the frontline in making the last days of a person life as comfortable as possible were paid often very little in comparison to say someone who worked in an office or in a bank. Surely, working in a nursing home caring for our elderly is an important role which in my opinion should be given greater respect. It’s also important to remember that when an employee is not treated well it is often the customer that bears the brunt of it. I am not making excuses or trying to defend the staff that mistreated the patient featured in the BBC programme but we have to look at these cases as costly lessons that shows that to a certain degree we are all responsible for the care of the most vulnerable in our society and this includes our older citizens.

On Global Village on Newstalk 106-108 tonight we will be talking about the Senior Helpline and how loneliness is still the biggest concern for our older people.

Posted in Be the change, Home, Mental Health, society | Tagged | 2 Comments »

Global Village live broadcast from the Mansion house mentioned on Newstalk Breakfast this morning – have a listen!

May 11, 2012 by Dil

Last week’s live broadcast of Global Village from the Mansion House in Dublin was amazing! One of the items we covered was representation in media and politics and Una Mullaly made an interesting point about who controls the narrative.

Have a listen here.

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Fancy watching my best bits on TV?

May 9, 2012 by Dil

Posted in Home, The Midday Show | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Somali FGM campaigner receives death threats after appearing on Global Village!

May 8, 2012 by Dil

On Global Village we have a weekly segment called 188 which highlights the statistic that Ireland is home to 188 nationalities according to the 2006 census. However, this figure has changed to 196 nationalities in the 2011 census and I was just saying to my producer that we have to change the tag line now to reflect this!

The segment is at the end of the show and it’s meant to be light hearted as we invite a different person each week from a different nationality to share with us their reason for coming to Ireland, what they like about it and most importantly to shed some light on their culture and traditions.

The chat always ends with us playing a song they have picked from their country.  It was my idea to include this on Global Village as it’s fun and entertaining and gives those listening a great sense of the person and their culture. Listen back to past 188 here.

However, a couple of weeks ago I invited Ifrah Ahmed, a beautiful Somalian woman to be our 188 for that week and read below what happened after the interview on Global Village.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, May 08, 2012

A Somali campaigner against female circumcision has said she had to leave her home in the face of a campaign of web hatred and abusive phonecalls, including one threat that she would be beheaded.

Ifrah Ahmed, 23, who has been living in Ireland for six years, claimed the abuse was sparked by the passing of laws in Ireland relating to female genital mutilation.

She said within a day of appearing on Newstalk radio for a brief interview, not connected with the issue, on Apr 21, she received a phonecall from a man who said she would have her head cut off.

She said that two days later, a three-year-old photo of her when she was a contestant in the Face of Africa Ireland contest was posted on a Somali website, attracting vitriolic comment.

Ms Ahmed, a victim of genital mutilation, said on one occasion her doorbell rang after midnight and she had felt so threatened she decided to leave her Dublin house for one night. The passing of the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill 2011 last March sparked fresh abuse.

Referring to the aftermath of the Newstalk Global Village interview, she said: “The next day I found my picture all over the place and people accusing me of doing the wrong thing.

“I was on Twitter, Facebook and a couple of Somali websites, people just saying how bad I am.”

She said some of the abuse was linked to the picture, with some accusing her of not dressing appropriately as a Muslim, while other abuse was linked to the mutilation issue.

Dublin Lord Mayor Andrew Montague confirmed Ms Ahmed has been invited to an event at the Mansion House next month in appreciation of her efforts campaigning against female genital mutilation.

Posted in Global Village, Home, Newstalk 106-108, Radio Activism | Tagged | 1 Comment »

“We are the 17%” – Newstalk’s Global Village celebrates the contribution migrants are making to Ireland in Dublin’s Mansion House

May 3, 2012 by Dil

Global Village on Newstalk 106-108fm broadcasts live from the Mansion House in Dublin this Saturday (May 5th) following a special invitation from the city’s Lord Mayor.  As the only social justice programme on the national airwaves, Global Village will celebrate the 196 nationalities that currently reside here in Ireland.

The latest 2011 Census figures reveal that 17 per cent of Ireland’s population was born outside Ireland. That’s nearly 1 in 5 people, which shows that diversity has become a permanent fixture of Irish society.  Speaking from her own experience, Global Village presenter Dil Wickremasinghe says, “The myth that migrants came here only to take advantage of the economic boom has been truly put to bed, as despite these challenging economic times many migrants, like myself, are choosing to stay in Ireland.  This is our new home and we want to play our part in steering the nation towards prosperity… Every person, including the 17%, now living in Ireland has the right to reach their true potential.”

Global Village’s ‘We are the 17%’ special programme is a celebration of the contribution migrants make to Ireland whilst highlighting the issues they face such as: the right to work; citizenship; representation in media, arts and politics. This live broadcast will involve an array of guests including the Lord Mayor, representatives of advocacy groups, social commentators and journalists but most importantly it will feature diverse migrant voices with live entertainment from the acclaimed Discovery Gospel Choir.

This special live broadcast of Global Village is proudly supported by The Immigrant Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council, DHR Communications, Jaipur Restaurants and the South African Embassy.

Dil Wickremasinghe came to Ireland just 12 years ago and like most migrants started from the bottom and worked her way up “I started as a kitchen porter and now own my own training company and have a successful career in Irish media. I fell in love with Ireland from the moment I stepped foot on Irish soil and as a new Irish citizen I am proud to call Ireland my home!

“These are challenging times but many migrants like myself are choosing to stay, this is our new home and we want to play our part in steering the nation towards better and prosperous times – we are the 17%, look past our skin colour and our accents and look deep into our eyes and see that we came here with big dreams and hopes for a better life – all we need now is the continued respect and acceptance from the Irish public, in order for us to shine and to reach our true potential and together we can rebuild this beautiful nation of ours.”

Tune in on Newstalk 106-108FM SATURDAY 5TH MAY FROM 7-9PM

GLOBAL VILLAGE broadcasts every Saturday from 7-9pm on Newstalk 106-108fm

 

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The Craic Pack Comedy Improv comes to Ireland’s First Alcohol Free Comedy Club – Monday 14th May!

May 1, 2012 by Dil

Fun, Fearless comedy entertainment!

The Craic Pack Comedy Improv Group are coming to Ireland’s Alcohol Free Comedy Club!!! The fun, fearless comedy group was established in 2002 and celebrate 10 years of performing to packed houses every Friday night at The Bankers Comedy Club (The Bankers Bar Trinity Street Dublin 2). Regulars on the Irish comedy circuit, this bunch of energetic, interactive, and fearless comedy actors make sense of their audiences varied suggestions which include genres, accents, environments and many, many more of the cuff comment and suggestions. Performing improvised crazy scenarios through scene building, storytelling and general mayhem they will take you on the improvised ride of your life, “When was the last time you saw two Irish Olympic gymnasts locked inside a ping pong ball on St Patricks Day?”

The Craic Pack has performed at The Kilkenny Cat Laughs, The Newport Irish Festival in the USA, Cork Mid Summer and Bulmer’s festivals and many more.

If you like Channel 4’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway” you will love  The Craic Pack Comedy Improv Show, so join us on Monday 14th May in Accents for a night of laughs!

Check out www.thecraicpack.com

Posted in Home, Ireland's First Alcohol Free Comedy Club | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

My Ripple…. Where there’s silence there is stigma… let’s talk…

April 26, 2012 by Dil

We know that when real people share their very real stories about their experiences with a mental health problem, it has the power to change peoples’ attitudes and end stigma.

See Change’s My Ripple radio awareness campaign involves a series of advertisements for national and regional radio that feature authentic, non-scripted content of real stories of people with experience of mental health problems, stigma and recovery in their own voice. Our aim is create a shared understanding of the mental health problems that can touch any one of us, inspiring radio audiences to take a personal role in opening-up conversation about mental health problems and challenging stigma, making ripples from one individual to the next until a large community of people are engaged on the issue and attitude change can organically begin.

I am part of this campaign as I have shared my story of my struggle with my mental health in an effort to break stigma and get people talking. Tune in this Saturday on Global Village as we feature the campaign and meet other brave ones who have shared their story too.

Listen to the recordings of the people who shared their stories to challenge stigma and create the ripple effect on Ireland’s radio waves.

Posted in Be the change, Home, Mental Health | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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